This invention relates to an embroidering machine and, more particularly, to an embroidering machine in which, in correspondence to stitch data for realizing an embroidering operation, graphic pattern data of an embroidery design realized by this stitch data is produced and a pattern of the embroidery design is displayed in accordance with this graphic pattern data whereby display for confirmation of the embroidery design pattern corresponding to this stitch data is facilitated.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine capable of judging whether or not an embroidery design fits in an embroidery frame by displaying both the shape of the embroidery frame and the shape of the embroidery design.
The invention relates also to a control device in an embroidering machine and, more particularly, to a control device capable of storing and displaying, in correspondence to stitch data for realizing an embroidering operation, control data representing characteristics of the embroidery design corresponding to the stitch data.
The invention relates also to an embroidering machine capable of graphically displaying a finished portion of an embroidery design pattern as the embroidering operation advances.
In an automatic embroidering machine, stitch data corresponding to various embroidery designs are stored in an external memory device such as a paper tape, the external memory device such as paper tape storing stitch data corresponding to a desired embroidery design is set and this stitch data is transmitted to an internal memory and stored therein. Data stored in the external memory such as paper tape as data relating to the embroidery design in the prior art embroidering machine is only stitch data for realizing embroidering operation corresponding to the embroidery design and this stitch data is directly transmitted to the internal memory and stored therein. In the automatic embroidering machine, stitch data transmitted to the internal memory and stored therein is read out and the embroidering operation is executed in accordance with the read out stitch data.
Since in such prior art embroidering machine, the memory is adapted to store only stitch data which is actually necessary for realizing the embroidering operation of the embroidery design, there is no means for confirming what design (i.e., its design pattern and design characteristics) is the embroidery design corresponding to the stitch data once stored in the internal memory for universal uses other than the operator's personal memory or actually carrying out the embroidery. This requires a very long time for confirmation of the embroidery design pattern and therefore is very inconvenient.
The embroidering machine generally has four limit switches concerning +X, -X and +Y and -Y directions for limiting X, Y moving range of the embroidery frame within a predetermined range and, when this limit switch has detected a supporting body of the embroidery frame, running of the embroidering machine is stopped for preventing damage to the embroidering machine.
If the shape of the embroidery frame supported by the embroidery frame supporting body is square matching with the shape of the supporting body, there is no particular problem. There is, however, a case where the shape of the embroidery frame is an ellipse or a circle and, in this case, there occurs an area in which the limit switches cannot detect the embroidery frame supporting body despite the fact that the needle position is out of the embroidery frame. If a portion of the embroidery design is located in such area, the needle sometimes abuts against the embroidery frame and thereby damages the embroidering machine due to nonstopping of the embroidering machine.
For overcoming this problem, Japanese Preliminary Patent Publication No. 59-106557 discloses the art in which the shape of the embroidery frame is obtained by polar coordinate data from a suitable origin before starting of embroidery and, during the embroidering operation, an absolute position of needle position for each stitch in the embroidery design is obtained by polar coordinates in accordance with stitch data for each stitch and, on the basis of comparison of the polar coordinate data of this needle position with the polar coordinate data of the embroidery frame, running of the embroidering machine is stopped when the needle position is on or out of the embroidery frame.
In this prior art embroidering machine, such judgement processing must be made during stitching operation for each stitch in the embroidering operation so that running for the embroidery must be actually made for judging whether or not the embroidery design is out of the embroidery frame. This is very inconvenient and troublesome.
Further, in the prior art embroidering machine, no particular means is provided for informing the operator of state of progress of the embroidering operation during the embroidering operation.
For this reason, the operator finds it difficult to confirm how far the embroidering operation has proceeded. If there is a sample of design pattern showing the entire embroidery design to be embroidered, state of progress of the embroidering operation can be confirmed by comparing the embroidery design which has actually been finished with the sample of design pattern. This, however, requires much time and labor.